


Close to You

by IlanaNight



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, Holidays, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 07:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17096339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IlanaNight/pseuds/IlanaNight
Summary: Genji's first Christmas with Blackwatch hasn't gone as well as Jesse would have liked, and he's worried about the ninja.





	Close to You

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the Overwatch Secret Santa exchange for @spookychiptune on twitter!

Christmas on base was always a wild sort of affair. Reyes insisted they celebrate  _ Noche Buena,  _ half to keep a tradition going, and half because it was the only real time they had to celebrate it. Reyes and Morrison were contractually obligated to attend some big fancy UN gala on Christmas proper, and prepping for that took half the day.

 

But Jesse liked celebrating at midnight the night before anyway- it reminded him of home, of home way before Deadlock and the mess his life had become. It reminded him of spending time with his abuelas before the Crisis tore the desert farmland to pieces and everyone was forced to fend for themselves. It reminded him of a better time.

 

And it was one of the few things that really made him feel like part of a family.

 

This year it had all gone down a little differently, though. They had an extra face around the table for dinner, an extra person to pass gifts out to. And an extra empty seat for when Reyes started pouring the abuelita and pulling out his guitar for songs.

 

Genji had slipped away as soon as he’d handed out the last of his presents- all very useful, very high quality items, but also things that had a cold sense to them. Not gifts from a personal perspective, all business.

 

“Hey uh. Boss-” Jesse paused mid-sentence at the look Reyes gave him, sighing and rolling his eyes, “ _ Dad.  _ Ugh. Dad, can I take a rain check on the carols til  _ Tres Reyes?  _ I’m gonna… go see where Genji ran off to.”

 

Something flickered in Gabe’s expression for a moment, too fast for Jesse to read it, but then he chuckled and nodded, smacking his guitar and waving a hand, “Yea, kiddo. Go find him- I’ll just make Jackie sit through all of my songs alone, because he’s trapped.”

 

That comment had everyone laughing, and the odd, awkward moment between them passed as Jesse got up, tipping his hat to the Commanders on his way out of the room. As he walked down the hallway, he heard the tell-tale twangs of Reyes tuning his guitar and thrumming out the first few chords of a song before the sound faded out of earshot.

 

Jesse whistled as he walked, letting his feet lead him to the sim rooms. Sure, Genji could be basically anywhere on base, but Jesse couldn’t imagine he was anywhere else. The cyborg spent nearly all his free time training, and he’d been antsy through the whole night of celebration.

 

The first three rooms were powered down, but Jesse could see lights from the observation deck of the forth, and peeked in, expecting to see Genji tearing apart the training robots like usual. But, the lit room was almost empty, only a couple of bots summoned up and dispatched before the simulation itself had been shut down from within.

 

Rather than fighting the training bots, Genji was seated cross-legged in the middle of the room, his blade balanced on the palms of his hands. Jesse frowned confusedly from the observation deck before turning off the monitors and hopping into the lift, riding it down to the training floor.

 

“Genji? Did something go wrong with the trainin’ gear? You alright?”

 

The cyborg twitched, reacting and turning with a start, hand shifting immediately to the hilt of his blade before relaxing when he saw who it was. His body stayed tense, but he let go of the hilt, letting his sword rest on his palms again.

 

“I got tired. Today has been long. That’s all.”

 

“Didn’t know you got tired, ninja. Didn’t Ziegler hook you up to a constant supply of energy drinks somewhere in those pipes of yours?”

 

A little chuckle echoed up from Genji’s chest, though his expression was unreadable behind the metal visor, “She hasn’t refilled me- said I should get some sleep for Christmas.”

 

“Shit, really? That’s the best damn gift she’s ever gave- wish she’d give  _ me  _ sleep for Christmas.” Jesse stepped closer, thumbs through his belt loops before he flopped down onto the floor next to Genji, looking over at him from under the brim of his hat, “Y’know, if you’re tired, ninja, generally we sleep to fix that. Dunno if they ever taught you that.”

 

“I haven’t always been a robot, cowboy. Or did you really not read the files I’m  _ sure  _ Reyes had on me.” There was a hint of a snide bite to his words, but Genji slid the visor back from his face, revealing a smirk rather than a scowl.

 

“You know I never read those things if I can help it,” A lie, and both of them knew it, but it was enough to have Genji chuckling and Jesse joining in with him, the tension broken by the little joke. “Honest though- somethin’s eatin’ at ya, ninja. You’ve been weird all day- I’m just worried, is all.”

 

The hint of a smile that had been tugging at Genji’s lips fell away and he turned to look at the wall again with a little scoff, “I’m fine. You’re imagining things, cowboy. Just because I don’t celebrate your holidays doesn’t mean something is wrong.”

 

Jesse put his hands up in surrender, an apologetic sort of half smile on his face, but he didn’t drop the topic- Genji was difficult to read sometimes but Jesse liked to think he knew the cyborg well enough to at least tell when he was upset.

 

Slowly, he scooted a little closer to Genji, giving the other man ample opportunity to pull away if he wanted, but Genji stayed totally still, save for setting his sword down on the ground in front of him rather than holding it in his hands. Taking that as the go ahead, Jesse patted a hand on Genji’s shoulder, giving him the lightest of shoves, “You’re usually a better liar than that. C’mon. You can tell me, I won’t rat you out to Reyes.”

 

There was a long pause, Genji still staring out at the wall, and then he reached forward, grabbing the sword with a lightning-quick motion, fast enough to have Jesse pulling back with a start. But all he did was sheath the sword over his back again before looking over at Jesse with something hard in his eyes.

 

“I don’t know how to… do this. I haven’t been close to anyone in a long time. You’re all… very close. And trying to be close to me too. But I don’t know how, and it feels like a failure,” The statement fell heavily on Jesse’s ears, but before he could even react, Genji’s mouth set into a hard line, “And if you tell anyone I said that I will spear your hat to the wall and ruin it.”

 

“Hey- that’s an improvement from threatening to spear  _ me  _ to the wall. I can buy a new hat- but this face? Can’t expect anyone to recreate it,” Jesse tried not to let the chill that shook down his spine show on his face, just flashing his smug little half-grin, “I told you- I’m not gonna rat you out. But uh… You know you don’t… have to be like that, right? Reyes is a dad at heart- he just… adopts people the world has fucked over. And it’s… overwhelming, yea. I couldn’t handle it at first- how much he fuckin  _ cares  _ and how much he ‘wants us to succeed and be better than the world thinks we can’. Feels like a load of bullshit but you can  _ see  _ how much he believes it and. Yea. It hurts. Thinking you can’t do that… Worrying you’re not gonna live up to expectations and just get tossed aside again… But you won’t. That’s not how we work here.”

 

By the end of speaking, Jesse realised his eyes were stinging, and he cleared his throat, rubbing at his eyes to stop the tears from falling. He hadn’t meant to say all of that, but once he got started he couldn’t stop. When he finished cleaning his eyes, he almost expected Genji to have left- emotional outpourings weren’t exactly the cyborg’s cup of tea, after all- but he was still sitting there, looking at Jesse with a shocked and open expression.

 

“Take a picture, ninja. It’ll last longer.”

 

「うっさい、バケロ。」

 

Genji scoffed, rolling his eyes and shifting before looking around as if making sure they were the only ones in the simulation room before sliding the foot or so closer to Jesse, momentarily resting his head against Jesse’s shoulder with a sigh, “It’s… weird. But. Thank you. For… telling me that. Your secret is also safe with me, cowboy.”

 

“Well, thanks. Because you don’t have a hat I could shoot onto a wall or somethin’ if you told on me,” He chuckled, feeling a bit of glee in his stomach when Genji laughed along with him before shoving Jesse aside, not hard enough to really move him.

 

“That’s your own fault for being so attached to your aesthetic, McCree. Not my problem.”

 

“Yea, yea. Can we not drag me on Christmas? That’s for Lent, we do all our sin dragging in the spring to really bring the end of winter home.”

 

Genji raised an eyebrow, snorting, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and you know what? That’s okay. I’m okay with that.”

 

“Man, I wish I was that free from Catholicism. Count yourself lucky, ninja,” Jesse flashed him a smile, glad they’d gotten back to the teasing, and that he’d seemingly broken Genji out of the funk he was in.

 

“In that sense, and perhaps another couple, I do count my blessings, yes.”

 

The mischievous little glint that came into Genji’s eyes at that had Jesse raising an eyebrow, leaning forward with a question in his eyes and on his lips, “Yea? What’s the other ones, then?”

 

“Oh, they’re a secret. Well. All but this one,” Lightning fast again, Genji leant forward, stealing a quick kiss from Jesse, one hand cupping his face and the other notably raised.

 

As Genji pulled away from the kiss, Jesse looked up, seeing the little mistletoe branch held between Genji’s fingers, the cyborg laughing with a satisfied smile. Jesse couldn’t help but laugh along with him, reaching over and pulling him over for another kiss, “Whatever happened to ‘I don’t understand or celebrate your holidays’, huh?”

 

“I understand them when it’s convenient for me. Merry Christmas, cowboy.”

 

“Merry Christmas, Genji.”

**Author's Note:**

> Translations/Notes:  
> Noche Buena is tradition in Mexican (and maybe other latinx cultures but I can't be quoted on that) to open presents at midnight on Christmas!  
> Tres Reyes Day is the Epiphany, or the day on which the 3 Wise Men came.  
> 「うっさい、バケロ。」- "Shut up, cowboy."


End file.
